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Dragonball Evolution/Comparison to Akira Toriyama's manga
In the transition from manga/anime to live-action film, a number of things changed from what they once were. A number of things also remained the same or similar to their original incarnation. Here is a compiled list of these changes. General Similarities * Piccolo flies around in an airship, just as he did in the manga * The Kamehameha can be used to blow out fires, though in the movie, the Kamehameha was able to start fires in a garden full of lanturns in one scene of this movie. Differences : The film features several original characters created for the high school environment such as Weaver, Carey Fuller, Agundas, Emi and Mr. Kingery. * While the Dragon Balls in this film are small and have a number of stars, the stars float around in a mist inside the balls instead of remaining stationary. :* In addition, the Dragon Balls have a connection with Goku due to his connection to Oozaru. * Despite Pilaf's flying fortress appearing in the movie, Pilaf himself is completely absent, as well as Shu. * Rather that "poof, there it is", Capsules Corp. capsules transform and expand into whatever they're supposed to. Capsules are also remote-controlled as opposed to activated or deactivated by a button press. * Because anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals were dropped from the film Yamcha adventures alone rather than accompanied by Puar. * Krillin is non-existant to the plot. * The Kamehameha doesn't necessarily need to be channeled with its user's hands at their side (although it is still always launched the same way, with it's users hands spread opposite each other). The physical properties of the Kamehameha also vary; sometimes shown as being a wave of wind, and other times as the energy wave it is best known as. It can also be used to defibrillate or revive people on the verge of death, though the process can be slightly painful. * Whereas the containment vessel sealing away King Piccolo in the original manga was a simple electric rice cooker with a talisman on it, the containment vessel sealing away Piccolo in the movie is a mystic urn which requires at least a day of preperation time, although this contradicts the statement in the beginning of the movie that Piccolo was sealed in the center of the earth . * In the movie, the Namekians are mentioned, whilst they are not mentioned in the Dragonball anime or manga. *Fans heavily panned this movie for ripping off of Avatar the Last Airbender, and Transformers for the Kamehameha wave and capsules respectivly. * Ki in this movie is apparently known about, but in the franchise ki was a special factor of the Z fighters Lord Piccolo Similarities * Perhaps mirroring King Piccolo's deformed Namek sons in the manga, in the film Piccolo uses a machine aboard his spacecraft to extract his blood and create several deviated golem-like creatures that are sent to stop Goku and friends, the Fu Lum. * After escaping the container he is sealed inside by the Mafūba, Piccolo seeks the seven Dragon Balls for his plot to dominate the world. * As in the manga, the film version of Piccolo is a being of immense power as well as immense evil. * Goku defeats Piccolo with the Kamehameha by leaping in the air toward him and firing it. The way it is performed is similar to the Penetrate! attack only Goku leaps into the air instead of lanching into the air from firing a Kamehameha into the ground and also dosen't go through Piccolo. Differences * While retaining his green skin color, this version of Piccolo lacks the antenne his manga counterpart has. * Piccolo is sealed by the Mafūba for 2,000 years, whereas his manga counterpart was sealed for only centuries. * In this movie adaptation, Piccolo unleashes some creatures manufactured from his DNA known as "Fulum" against Goku and his team. In the manga and anime, King Piccolo has his deadly children, Tambourine, Cymbal, and Drum fight against the heroes instead. The Fulum are also in the basic action figure assortment for the movie tie-in. * Instead of being immobilized and powerless while in the grip of the Mafūba, Piccolo is simply disoriented for a moment. He destroys the containment vessel and disrupts the Mafūba shortly afterwards. * Piccolo is defeated and survives from the Kamehameha, whereas his manga counterpart is killed by Penetrate!. * Piccolo is nursed back to health after being defeated by Goku, however, his manga counterpart is reincarnated as Piccolo Jr.. Grandpa Gohan Similarities * As in the manga, Grandpa Gohan is a cheerful old man and a master of self-defense as well as ki control. Differences * Grandpa Gohan and Goku live in a large house in the middle of nowhere here, whereas Goku (and formerly Gohan) lived in a small hut in the manga. * Gohan is a bit more silly in this movie than he is in the manga or anime. * According to Goku, Grandpa Gohan says to "beware the Nameks". In the manga, no one knew what a Namek was (or that King Piccolo, Kami, or Piccolo Jr. were a Nameks) until the Frieza Saga. * Grandpa Gohan is fatally wounded when Piccolo caves in his home with him still inside, whereas in the manga, he is killed when Goku, as a Great Ape, steps on him. Goku Similarities * He has his trademark spiky hair. * He was raised by and taught in the ways of martial arts by his grandpa Gohan. * He has a bigger appetite than Bulma, briefly shown in the film. * He isn't particularly brilliant and in fact, shows slight ignorance in parts of the film. * Goku is unusually strong. * Goku is later trained by and instructed by Roshi to carry all of Roshi's luggage on his back while keeping up with Bulma's vehicle. This is similar to when Master Roshi instructs Goku and Krillin to train while wearing 50-pound turtle shells on their backs in the manga. * He performs a weaker version of the Kamehameha seconds after watching Roshi do it, however in the manga, it is more powerful and doesn't fall apart in the air. * Goku defeats Piccolo with the Kamehameha by leaping in the air toward him and firing it. The way it is performed is similar to the Penetrate! attack only Goku leaps into the air instead of lanching into the air from firing a Kamehameha into the ground and also dosen't go through Piccolo. Differences * Grandpa Gohan and Goku live in a large house in the middle of nowhere here, whereas Goku (and formerly Gohan) lived in a small hut in the manga. * Goku's traditional, happy personality is lacked in the film. Instead, he questions his belonging on the Earth and wants to fit in, while in the manga, he never really cares to wonder. * In the manga, he was isolated from modern civilization for most of his childhood. In the film, Goku is a teenager in high school, interacts with his peers frequently, and uses electronic devices. (His lack of an education is a recurring theme in the manga.) *In the manga, Bulma is the first female he meets, and second human being, whereas in the film he knows many females and sees people a lot, long before meeting Bulma. * The film sees Goku turn 18 years old, although in the manga, Goku's adventure began when he was 12 years old. Chi-Chi is also presumably the same age as Goku in the film, as they are shown attending the same classes. * Goku falls in love Chi Chi, where in the manga she falls in love with him but he doesn't return these feelings until they decide to get married. * He can levitate using ki. He was unable to do this until much later in the manga. * In the manga, he gets his blue gi from Gohan, and is never seen wearing anything else until Roshi gives him his trademark orange gi. In the film, he wears regular clothes, and Roshi gives him both gis. :* The trademark orange gi is all orange in the manga, except for a black and white "turtle" symbol. In the film, it has navy blue pants, and undershirt with an orange shirt. In addition, Goku's wristbands, and belt, which were blue in the manga, are black in the film. * Unlike his manga counterpart, this Goku doesn't seem particularly interested in learning ki control or further developing his martial art skills until he has incentive (in this case, Chi Chi's attention). * When he is shot by Mai with her laser gun, he almost dies. But, in the manga, Goku was shot by Bulma in the head and was barely even affected by it. Also, he has been known to survive and deflect gunshots on multiple occasions. :* In addition, Goku was revived by a Kamehameha burst after being shot. * The Great Ape transformation is revised so that it is an actual character named Oozaru, who terrorized the Earth with Piccolo before the latter was banished by the Mafūba. In the film, an eclipse (rather than a full moon, as in the manga) transforms Goku into Oozaru, whose size is dramatically reduced from the size of Great Apes in Toriyama's series. This revision also drops the necessity for its user to have a Saiyan tail to transform. * Goku is revealed to have traveled to Earth on a meteor, rather than a spacecraft. :* In addition, Goku is not told that he travelled to earth in the manga until the start of Dragonball Z. Mai Similarities * As in the later chapters of the manga, Mai is a servant to Piccolo. * Mai refers to Goku as Son Goku aboard Piccolo's spacecraft Differences * The film depicts Mai as having the ability to shapeshift into another organism using a sample of their blood tissue (although this is more than likely done using the technology aboard Piccolo's spacecraft). * Mai dies when being shot by Yamcha, whereas in the Dragon Ball series she was killed either when Super Buu used the Genocide Blast or when Kid Buu destroyed the Earth. * In the manga, Mai was originally a minion of Emperor Pilaf, but since Pilaf doesn't appear in the film, she is Piccolo's servant. Chi Chi Similarities * Chi Chi is a very pretty young woman who's trains in the martial arts. She is in the manga as well, from her teenage years onward. Differences * The film version of Chi Chi differs in many ways from her manga counterpart. :* Goku first met Chi Chi when they were kids. Here, they're both adults. :* In the manga, Chi Chi didn't start seriously training to fight until the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Here, she seems to have been training for quite a while. :* The romantic interest between Goku and Chi Chi was very one-sided for the longest time in the manga whereas here, it's almost instant. Bulma Brief Similarities * She travels with a gun. * She has Capsules. * She created a device to locate Dragon Balls. * She is highly intelligent. * Bulma's family retains its status as the owner of the Capsule Corporation. * Towards the middle of the movie, Bulma and Yamcha start to grow fond of each other, much like they do at the end of the first arc of Dragon Ball. Differences * Bulma has brown hair with only a strand of blue, rather than the purple and blue hair her manga and anime incarnations are best known for sporting. * In the manga, her surname is "Briefs" and in the film, it is "Brief" * Bulma had some idea there was more than one Dragon Ball (or "Prometheum Ball", as she called it) when she started out, but had no hard evidence until Goku explained what they were and what they do. In the manga and anime, she not only knew there were seven, but also knew they grant wishes. :* Bulma also starts out with only one Dragon Ball here whereas she had two in the manga. * Instead of wanting to wish for a boyfriend, Bulma wants to tap the Dragon Balls for a source of unlimited energy.* In the film, she doesn't know of the Dragon Balls, and thinks there is only one (the one she has), which she calls by a different name, and Goku tells her everything about the Dragon Balls, whereas in the manga, it is the other way around. * In the manga, she is slightly less rowdy and considerably less eager to shoot someone with her gun. * In the manga, at the start of the story, she is sixteen years old, and five years older than Goku. In the movie, she and Goku are about the same age, (with Goku's age being eighteen). Roshi Similarities * Roshi retains the lust for women he harbors in the manga as well as his flamboyant personality. ("I am Muten-Roshi, The Invicible! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!") * As in the manga, Roshi intends to use the Mafūba to seal away Piccolo once more. And as in the manga, he fails and ends up dying from the move. * Under halfway through the movie, Roshi becomes Goku's master in the arts of airbending( which disappointed fans of Dragon Ball, for having somewhat of a blatant rip of ideas from Avatar the Last Airbender) and ki control. Differences * Roshi lives in a housing complex on a small cliff in the middle of the city, whereas in the manga he lived in a small house on an island in the middle of the ocean. *He does not keep his signature look; sunglasses, beard and baldness, and looks several years younger than Gohan. Yamcha Similarities * Yamcha retains his status as a desert bandit who uses bribery to spare passersby. As in the manga, he joins the adventure with the intent of selling the Dragon Balls. Differences * Yamcha does not exhibit any shyness around women (and in fact is an outright flirt towards Bulma). *He is not a fighter, despite being a major fighter in the franchise Sifu Norris Similarities * Master Mutaito instructed Roshi, and Roshi instructed Grandpa Gohan, as in the manga. Differences * He's named "Sifu Norris" rather than "Mutaito" as in the manga. * Master Mutaito hasn't died as a result of conjuring the Mafūba against Piccolo. * While Master Mutaito's counterpart in the manga is Caucasian, in the film he is depicted as African American. This is similar to the ethnicity alterations of Staff Officer Black in the 1996 film The Path to Power, where unlike his manga and anime counterpart, he was depicted as Hispanic rather than African American. Shenlong Similarities * When the seven Dragon Balls are gathered together and the correct prayer spoken, the dragon Shenlong will come out and grant one perfect wish. Although they try to hold true to the manga, it shows that many cuts on the dragon summoning scene were made when Goku spontaniousley knows the dragons prayer despite never having learned it. It was also very over elaborate and quite funny. Differences * Instead of being called by his common English name, Shenron is referred to as Shenlong (the Chinese pronunciation). * Shenlong is much smaller than his manga counterpart and looks slightly more like a Western dragon than an Eastern dragon. * Shenlong has no speaking roles. After being summoned by the Dragon Balls it waits for a wish to be declared, after which it disappears and the wish is granted. Category:Dragonball: Evolution